
Graphics Card: PowerColor AX7850 1GBD5-DH
This affordable Radeon HD 7850 delivers amazing performance in a compact design that requires just one six-pin power connector. As we'd expect, AMD's Pitcairn GPU serves up 1024 ALUs running at 860 MHz, while 1 GB of GDDR5 memory operates at 1200 MHz.
PowerColor’s offering does go a little sparse on connectivity, including one dual-link DVI-I, one HDMI, and one DisplayPort output. And the company's bundle lacks a CrossFire bridge or power adapter. Instead, it comes with one DVI-to-VGA adapter, a driver disc, and a thin manual. But as one of the most affordable Radeon HD 7850s on Newegg, we found this card perfect for budget-minded system builders.
Read Customer Reviews of PowerColor's AX7850 1GBD5-DH
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKX 320 GB
Western Digital’s 320 GB Caviar Blue drive spins at 7200 RPM and includes a SATA 6Gb/s interface. We also like its 16 MB data cache. For the price, a two-year warranty isn't shabby, either.
Read Customer Reviews of Western Digital's Caviar Blue WD3200AAKX 320 GB
- Squeezing More Bang From The Same Buck
- CPU And Cooler
- Motherboard And Memory
- Graphics Card And Hard Drive
- Case, Power Supply, And Optical Drive
- Assembling Our Budget-Oriented Box
- Limited Overclocking Strikes Again
- Test System Configuration And Benchmarks
- Benchmark Results: Synthetics
- Benchmark Results: Battlefield 3
- Benchmark Results: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Benchmark Results: F1 2012
- Benchmark Results: Audio And Video
- Benchmark Results: Productivity
- Power Consumption And Temperatures
- Is This Our Best $500 Gamer Ever?


Exactly. Couldn't've said it better.
Linux for a gaming desktop I dont think so.
What about the Phenom II 965? It's only $75 at TigerDirect.
I think they'd be better off with a B75 motherboard, 4GB RAM and an i3-3220.
Exactly. Couldn't've said it better.
It's too expensive.
This was a hardware test. You're OS complaints are irrelevant and there's no practical difference between Home and Pro versions when it comes to simple performance tests. such as these.
Several Linux distros works pretty well with most modern popular games, just FYI. Also, getting Windows for free legally is easy if you care to do it. Dreamspark has many free versions available to college students and most people know at least one, even if by proxy. Even in the unlikelihood of not knowing any, there's still the eval copies that MS gives away for free on their own website.
I disagree. The current drivers for Windows 8 are pretty much on-par with the Windows 7 drivers. Heck, they're better than AMD's pre-Catalyst 12.6 drivers.
Meh, I would've preferred seeing at least an A8-5600K with a cheaper motherboard and memory kit or keep the same memory kit and get a cheaper case. It could have fit, IDK why Tom's didn't do it. Maybe there weren't good prices on other components at the time
Windows home still costs $100 which is still some how not part of the budget.